


Synced Together

by AngryMintLeaf



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Cussing, Fluff, M/M, Mute Guardian, Nonbinary Guardian, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Spoilers, long oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2018-12-26 09:25:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12056043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryMintLeaf/pseuds/AngryMintLeaf
Summary: Is it possible for a flower to bloom between two rocks?Or maybe even a place where the sun rarely touches?What are the chances,Of a flower blooming within two people?





	1. Prologue- A Flower Between a Rock and a Hard Place

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy!  
> Alright, just to get this out fast, The Guardian is nonbinary (They/Them pronouns) and mute because I wanted to make it so you guys still have your own guardian that saved the world and such. If this makes any of you uncomfortable or angry, I apologize. I really hope you can understand this and that multiple guardians can be in place here.
> 
> Thank you for your time-

Such a beautiful sight to behold. 

Zavala looks out on the horizon, the Traveler in pieces, yet still so beautiful. The air is so clear up here, much different from the days before. The smoke from parts of the city being burned down was hard to deal with, the constant burning of the eyes and coughing was irritating. The sounds of footsteps break his thought, and he turns around to see a familiar face.

"Ikora?"

She doesn't show any signs of worry, hopefully, it's good news.

"Hello, Zavala. I have an invitation for you. Well, Cayde proposed that we celebrate our victory. Hawthorne, Cayde, The Guardian, and I will be at the Summer Palace tonight," She smiles softly, "It's only fitting for you to join us."

"I... don't see why not. What time do you want me?"

"Around five-thirty. 'No rush' says Hawthorne," She walks up beside him, looking out towards the Traveler, "I still can't believe that we did it."

"If we had just one slip up... The chances were against us, and yet, here we are."

She nods, "The Guardian is truly something. Their light is immense; the Traveler must have chosen them. There's almost no way around it."

"I'm glad we're celebrating. I never really got much of a chance to tell how good they did on the field."

"Same here."

They both look out towards the city. Peaceful; however, Zavala's eyebrows furrow, imagining how many other guardians died out there. They tried to bring back as many bodies as they could to give a proper burial, but he's sure there's still thousands or more still missing. How is he one of the lucky ones that are standing here today? Maybe... if he did something different he could have saved more. 

"The Traveller seems to be in peace," Ikora says.

"How can you tell...?"

"Kind of an assumption, but it's like getting a thorn out of your foot. Although, what the traveler went through was probably more like getting a knife out of your chest. I... worry that it's not stable."

"We can only hope that it is."

"If we were to wake up, our powers gone again," Ikora looks him in the eye, "Hopefully, someone won't take advantage of that." 

"The Traveller has surpassed our theories hundreds of times before. I believe it can sustain itself, it did this time."

Ikora closes her eyes, "I should be off, thank you for the talk." Ikora turns around and walks away, hands folded behind her back.

"I'll see you tonight."

 

 

Cayde looks at his reflection in a storefront's window; Trying to determine if he should have changed into more formal attire rather than his normal get up. Hey, the cloak is pretty bad ass. He turns away from it, walking on the path towards the restaurant. Honestly, he's a bit surprised that there are restaurants still here just days after the fall of the Red Legion. Guess the world really does revolve around money. He walks up the front steps, seeing a guard dressed in armor, with a little bow tie around the neck, at the two giant doors. 

"Hey, you're Cayde-6!"

"Yes, yes, that certainly is me. Uh, reservation for five?"

"Oh," The guard raises their hands up in an apologetic way,"You'll have to talk to the main desk for that. I just watch the front door."

"Right, well, if you can excuse me-" He reaches out for the door handle, but the guard beats him to it, giving a bow. Cayde walks in, the colors of gold, white, and orange is almost overwhelming. How long since he's even been at a restaurant? I mean he doesn't need to eat so there isn't much need for-

A service robot walks up to him and bows down, "Good evening, may I get your name or do you have a scheduled seating?"

"Cayde-6, and I have a reservation for five."

The robot takes out a book and flips through the pages and finally nods when they were done, "Yes, you are in the book. I'll walk you to your table."

Cayde follows suit. There's classical music being played by a holographic quartet, the servers dressed up as much as possible, and the atmosphere here just smells of the rich. 

"There you are, Cayde," Hawthorne says, in a different poncho than usual. Actually, no one is in their gear except for Cayde. Zavala's in a really nice tux as well. Weird seeing him without his armor on.

He takes a seat, the service robot giving him a menu and leaving, "You guys really kicked it up a notch for the restaurant choice."

"You were the one to mention it," Ikora says.

"Well, yes, but that was _a suggestion_." Cayde emphasizes, "Plus, I don't have to eat anything, so it comes to no price to me."

"Flip through your menu a bit," Zavala says.

Cayde reluctantly picks it up and turns a few pages. There is actually a section of 'food' that it says Exo's can eat, only three entrées are actually listed there though. 

"Well, color me surprised." 

Another service bot makes their way around the table, the one and only Guardian standing next to them.

"Hey, guardian, fashionably late, huh?" 

The service bot speaks up, "Are you guys ready to order?"

"Just give us a few more minutes." Ikora answers. The robot nods and walks off to another table.

The Guardian takes a seat, signing Cayde the sentence: "The Crucible match lasted longer than I thought it would."

Cayde signs back with: "You want me to translate for them?"

The Guardian nods.

"They had a crucible match that lasted longer than they thought."

"Did you win?" Hawthorne asks. The Guardian nods in response and Hawthorne gives them a thumbs up.

Cayde looks back down at his menu, Hawthorne and Zavala getting into a conversation. He has three options here, a soup, a sandwich of some sort, and finally a "fruit" dish. What the hell would even be the fruit? Some sort of leather or jell? Alright, his order has been decided out of clear interest, no way around the curiosity of that fruit bowl. He puts his menu down and catches the Guardians eye.

Cayde signs to them: "What are you going to order?" 

"I don't know, there's a lot on the menu." They sign back.

"I get that, and hey there's this weird fruit dish I'm going to get."

"You're a robot" They tilt their head a little.

"Exactly, like what is the fruit made out of?" 

They sign 'I don't know' and shrugs.  
  
About five minutes pass and the waiter comes back, asking for everyone's orders. 

"What's in the, uh, fruit bowl?" Cayde asks the service bot.

"Apples, blueberries, and-"

"In the _Exo_ fruit bowl." 

"The Exo fruit bowl is made out of lubricant."

"Sounds _very_ appetizing, huh." 

The service bot makes it's round with the orders and asks if they want anything else.

"Well, do you guys want to celebrate with some wine or champagne?" Ikora asks.

"I don't see why not." Zavala answers.

Ikora turns back to the waiter, "We'll take... two bottles of champagne." 

"Good choice," The bot says and leaves soon after.

Hawthorne pushes Ikora lightly on the shoulder, "Great choice on the champagne there."

Ikora smiles, "It is cause for celebration."  

"That's my girl," Cayde says. 

The vibe is so light right now, so different from the days before. It's... really nice to take a break like this. It was very worrying towards the end of the red war. Cayde didn't see that one of the Cabal's Gladiators came up behind him and cut off his arm just like that. There was so many surrounding him, all the noise... it was so hard to focus. Cayde grabs onto his arm. There was another close call even before that as well, but it was his foot instead. Someday it might even be Cayde-7 if he's not careful. 

Cayde catches Zavala staring, but neither of them look away. Zavala's eyebrows are furrowed ever so slightly, and the corners of his mouth are tilted down a bit. Cayde turns away, hearing the waiter back with the food. Both Ikora and Zavala ordered what looks to be a steak with a side of salad, The Guardian has a toasted sandwich, and Hawthorne a certain type of pasta. The service bot puts down the bowl of "fruit" in front of Cayde, and he honestly has to resist laughing just looking at it. It literally looks like someone made piss colored jello triangles.  _Definitely_ not appetizing. He picks one up, looking at it carefully. 

"Good luck eating that," Zavala says with a smile. 

"I need all the luck I can get." To be fair, he doesn't taste anything, so it probably won't be  _that_ bad. Cautiously, he bites into it, the liquid coming out fast.

"How is it...?" Zavala asks.

"I don't know, would you want a taste?"

"No thanks, I'm good with what I have." Zavala cuts into his steak.

This is probably the only thing Cayde can eat that won't really damage him. He picks up another one. 

 

 

The night goes very well, Zavala hasn't done anything like this in a very long time, it's a good break for him. Zavala steps out the front doors of the restaurant, the light outside from when he first walked in basically gone and replaced with the dark. He waves to the guard at the door and walks down the steps. He was the last one to leave out of the group. He played a small game of cards with Cayde towards the end there; not sure where he keeps his card deck, but he seems to always have them. The stroll down the sidewalk is calming, and yet disturbing at the same time. There's still quite a lot of rubble in the streets, and to imagen that this very path would have been packed with people if it was just a few weeks earlier. 

An orange-ish glows catches his attention. Zavala squints, walking a bit closer, seeing Cayde's face barely from the glow from the sides of his head. 

"Oh, it's just you Cayde." Zavala sighs in relief. 

"You think I was some new hybrid of alien? That's fair."

"What are you doing... here?"

"Sitting beside a shoe store, what are you doing?"

"Walking... home." Zavala folds his arms behind his back, "Is there something wrong?"

Cayde doesn't say anything, just the faint sounds of his machinery moving. He sighs and holds out his hand.

Zavala leans in closer, seeing a bit of liquid that has pooled up in his hand. Cayde chuckles as Zavala pulls back at the sight.

"It's nothing really, don't worry about it," Cayde lowers his arm, "Just an excess of lubricant. I don't want it fucking spilling out while I'm walking, so here I am."

Zavala's eyebrows furrow, "Oh, it was the food wasn't it."

"Uh-huh, I wonder what makes you think that." 

Zavala stands there, Cayde simply watches as more liquid spills out. He bites the inside of his cheek and sighs, sitting down next to Cayde. They don't say anything to each other; the silence is more peaceful rather than awkward. 

"Cool tattoo," Cayde says, and it nearly startles Zavala, "I kinda want to get one myself. It's a bit easier for me though, just gotta get some paint and... you know."

"I got it when I started working as a vanguard. It's the striker symbol, or that's what it was then."

"I've never seen it before. Your tattoo I mean. Your armor covers it up, first time I've seen it if you could tell."

Zavala nods, "I just wear my armor so much in case of emergency. There's been more than good times where I've been caught in casual attire and there was something urgent to attend to."

"Tonight a special occasion, huh?"

"Of course," Zavala looks Cayde in the eye, "We haven't done anything like that in ages."

"That's for sure, you guys had a good lot of champagne."

"I'm a man who can handle his liquor. It shouldn't be much of a problem."

"That's what they all say, Zav." 

...Zav? It feels weird to hear Cayde of all people to call him that. That was... who called him Zav...? His mother? Brother? He can't remember. 

"Oh, hey it kinda stopped." Cayde stands up, Zavala following suit, "Okay, but those 'fruit' were kinda fun to eat, so it was debatably worth it." 

"Is that so?"

"It was like rubbery kinda? I mean it probably tastes really bad, but the texture was weird." 

"I'll make sure to remember that." 

 

 

* * *

 

 


	2. A War Between Friends

Cayde managed to get home safely last night, Zavala actually walked him home to no surprise. Although, last night was really... quiet.

The silence and knowing that thousands of people are asleep except for him just keeps his mind going and going. Well, it's more like how there's nothing to go off from with silence. No one to make jokes with, no music to listen to, just nothing. So his mind fills it in for him. Usually, he would play a game of solitaire, or even practice dancing. Anything to keep his mind busy.

Last night though...

He was reading his journals, his past lives that he can't remember anymore, that are long forgotten. Every time he reads them it makes him feel so empty. That all he is in this world is a robot. He wrote in his 06 journal last night. Describing the end of the Red War a bit more in detail and the celebration they had. Who knows whenever Cayde-7 might make his way to be. The war has really made him think. How many moments could he have messed up and got himself killed another time? Yes, his journals are here so he can remember, but there are moments that aren't written. If he were to write everything down, it would just get too hard to manage. That's what Cayde-3 ended up doing, and he was a mess.

He figured out a way to keep a memory of events and that was to write it down. He wishes he could have thought of it sooner, but there's sadly nothing he can do about it. Hell, he's lucky that Cayde-3 even thought of the idea, to begin with. It hurts though. Hurts to read the writing of someone who is long gone. That someone being yourself.

After he was done writing, he simply lied in bed for a couple of hours. Just thinking. Of how the many ways his life could have ended days earlier, or how someone else could, and that they would have no recollection. If that happened to Zavala or Ikora, would they be replaced? Or...make them relearn everything...?

 

"Outstanding planning, Bravo! What fools they are for falling right into your hands." Shaxx shouts at the projected video of the crucible. Zavala's been meaning talk with Shaxx more, but they've both been rather busy.

"Lost the lead, Team Alpha." Shaxx says.

It seems to be a really fun job for Shaxx to overlook the crucible, he's earned it as well. He was one of the most fear-inspiring people you could ever play against in a match and still is to this day. He's actually been the spark of many rumors, half of them saying that he was cheating and the other half saying he's actually a bear under that helmet.

"Good job, Bravo, let the world witness your brilliance."

"That was a good match."

Shaxx nods, "Very! I'm surprised how well Team Bravo was able to coordinate with each other even though they weren't in a fireteam. Marvelous work on their parts, I almost feel bad for Alpha."

"We should do a match sometime. We haven't in quite a while."

Shaxx chuckles and folds his arms, "I've been meaning to get out there again."

"I can see if Cayde and Ikora would be up for it as well. I think it would be fun."

"Can't wait to fight that kid, Cayde. He drives me insane."

"He's not... that annoying."

Shaxx sighs and shakes his head, "I'm glad you're not being too much of a stick in the mud like you usually are. Good on you, Zavala."

"Well, if I'm honest, it can get pretty boring in the tower when you're just standing there."

"I know that all too well. Sometimes I just have to throw in a few special things in the crucible for those guardians. A few pikes, a tank maybe, it's fun to watch when those machines blow up."

"Better than paperwork. I mean, I wouldn't want the tower to get attacked just to change up the day, too many lives would be in danger, but a match would be great."

"Well, go tell your vanguard friends when you're able and I'll reserve a match sometime this evening."

"Alright, I'll get that handled."

Shaxx nods, "Good, good. It should be posted on the board over there for the time."

"Thanks, I'll check up with you if Cayde and Ikora are available."

 

"I don't see a problem with it," Ikora states, "I've been getting an itch for a fight for a while now, so this will definitely be fun." She smiles, locking her eyes with Zavala's that sends a shiver down his spine.

"Alright," Zavala turns to leave, but Ikora stops him.

"Oh, just by the way, Cayde's not at his post. The hunters have been coming up to me and asking where he has been. My ghost says he's still in his quarters."

"Why?" Zavala raises an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure. I was going to go talk to him, but I got busy."

"I'll go see him, thank you for telling me."

 

Zavala stands in front of Cayde's door to his quarters, knocking on it, "Cayde? Are you in here?" There's a bit of rustling and quick footsteps that Zavala can hear before Cayde opens the door.

Cayde puts his hood over his head, "Oh, hey Zavala," He leans against the door frame, "Didn't expect to see you here."

"You're not at your post."

"Hahaha," Cayde makes a sound of him clearing his throat, "I kinda just lost track of time there. I'll be there in like a minute, you'll never have known that I was gone."

"Are... you alright, Cayde?"

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"Well," Zavala shakes his head, "Just never mind that. I have a request for you; Ikora, Shaxx, and I are going to play in a free for all crucible match tonight. Care to join us?"

"Hell, yeah I'm in! Glad we're having some variety in our lives now. Although, I feel like Ikora will end up destroying me... I think it's gonna be great."

"I'll see you there, Cayde." Zavala turns and leaves.

 

Zavala sits in his ship that is currently above Earth, waiting for Shaxx to say that the field is ready to go. The earth looks so peaceful from up here, like there isn't a care in the world. Sadly there's so many aliens and other creatures infesting it that it's hard to even go on a short walk without getting attacked. Zavala adjusts himself in his chair, his heart rate already starting to beat faster. Shaxx told him that the match will be televised, which doesn't entirely raise the stakes, but if you mess up everyone sees it. If he sticks to his plan, it should go well. He's curious how the others are going to play, though. Zavala has seen all three of them raise havoc several times.

Zavala hears Shaxx from the comms, "Alright, you're able to fly in now, good luck to you all." Zavala puts on his helmet and lets's his ghost take control of the ship. It goes forward towards Earth, the ship breaks into it's atmosphere and swiftly drops Zavala off on a hill and flies off. Zavala takes out his scout-rifle and runs. The goal of the game is to get as many kills as possible in a time frame of ten minutes. He runs into one of the broken down buildings, and heads up a small flight of stairs. crouching down and scoping out for any movement. There's the sound of gunfire in the distance, and Zavala looks in that direction. Ikora and Shaxx are dueling it out.

Shooting will expose his position, when one of them gets to critical health, he'll take his shot. Ikora blinks into the air and throws a vortex grenade. Zavala aims his crosshair on Shaxx's head, ready... aim...

Shaxx's body goes limp from Zavala's bullet. Ikora looks over in Zavala's direction and runs into the center building. Zavala jumps out of the window, taking minimal damage and runs towards the center building as well. He steps inside and takes cover behind a collapsed wall, listening closely to any footsteps or breathing. He closes his eyes, hearing... heavy footsteps from behind him. Zavala turns around and sees Shaxx charging him. Zavala feels his back collide with the rubble, he opens his mouth to breath, but he breathes in nothing. There's a loud bang and his vision goes dark.

Zavala materializes onto the field and shudders. He shakes his head and takes off running again towards the gunfire. He sees Cayde shooting at Ikora. Zavala raises his gun, his crossfire on Cayde. Cayde's head flicks around, looking directly at Zavala. It all moves in slow motion.

Cayde's gun moves towards him. Zavala's finger is on the trigger, but an urge inside of him doesn't let him shoot.

It's dark again.

  
Cayde looks away from Zavala's limp form and snaps his attention back on... Ikora if she was actually in his sights anymore. He looks at Zavala, his body. Something inside of him aches.

"Heavy ammo inbound!" A voice says over the intercom. Cayde's thoughts clear and he runs over to where Ikora was, getting no sign of her. He crouches down, pulling out his ghost to see where the heavy ammo is spawning.

Oh boy.

It's gonna be right in the main building. His super is fully charged actually, no doubt that the others have theirs as well. He listens to any sounds he can from out here.

"Heavy ammo deployed!"

There's a sound of reloading, footsteps and then...

There's an explosion and the sound of loud clanking. He peaks around the corner, ashes coming out of the hallway. Well, now or never. Activating a super was always something strange. It's like being overwhelmed with strength and power. He looks at his gun, burning a bright gold. He runs into the building and sees Ikora and Shaxx. He shoots the both of them, their bodies dropping onto the floor with a thud. He runs over to Ikora's body and takes the heavy ammo. He reloads his shotgun with it, only two rounds though, gonna be pretty risky. Cayde crouches over to one of the entrances of the building, the chances of someone going through this hallway compared to the other one is pretty much split 50/50.

He waits there for a solid minute, the sound of gunfire filling in the silence. A different noise catches his attention now. Sounds like... static or someone shaking up a bush. He moves forward a little bit. There's a moving blur on his right, and he snaps his body over that direction. There's nothing there. He moves over there, slowly, he walks in that direction. There's more movement and there's-

A sword pierces into Cayde's stomach, electricity pulsating from it. He can't think, he can't think it's too loud, why is there this loud buzzing in his head?! 

It goes to static.

 

Cayde materializes, looking at his hands and sighing in relief. Dying is _never_ a good feeling.

"Heavy ammo inbound, two minutes remaining."

Gotta pick up the pace here. He takes out his ghost again, the heavy ammo going to spawn in front of the center building. Well, he's gonna wait it out a bit, that last death was... intense. Plus, he can use his golden gun again for those getting the heavy ammo when it comes down to it, it's almost ready anyway. This isn't the most strategic or interesting way to go around this, but it keeps his death count low. Who even killed him last time? Probably Zavala actually... Shaxx is too headstrong to fight with a sword, and Ikora said she finds swords to be awkward to handle.

"Heavy ammo Deployed."

Cayde listens for any signs of a fight over by the ammo, and he does, there are small tremors passing through the ground, must be Zavala.

"One minute remaining."

Now's the time. Cayde runs from his cover, throwing a grenade towards the heavy ammo spawn, seeing Zavala and Shaxx fighting it out. Cayde jumps up, hand canon aimed for Zavala's head. He knicks him in the back, getting his attention. Zavala rushes towards him, fist pulled back.

"Thirty seconds remaining." 

Cayde ducks, quickly pulling out his knife and drives it as hard as he can into the armor and down his stomach. Cayde kicks him over, really pushing the knife deep inside of Zavala. Cayde shoots towards Shaxx, who's launching rockets right at him. There's an explosion off to the side of him, pieces of shrapnel hitting Cayde. 

"Ten seconds remaining."

Cayde fixates his aim on Shaxx's head and-

Before Cayde can even pull the trigger, there's a loud noise behind Cayde. He looks back, seeing a big purple ball of void being flung towards them. It goes to static. A voice echoes in his head.

"Ikora Rey, victorious." 

 

Zavala opens his eyes, seeing his ship. His hands frantically feel over his stomach. No blood, no pain, it's gone. He sighs. 

"Let's head back to the tower," Zavala says to his ghost, "Got to congratulate on Ikora for that victory." 

"Of course." 

The flight back is quick and simple, and he's already back at the tower. He drops down from his ship, and sees multiple guardians swarming around... Ikora? Zavala stands on the edges of the crowd, listening in.

"You saw that fight! Us warlocks are truly the best."

"Not at all! Didn't you see that trick Cayde did?"

Zavala rolls his eyes and pushes through the crowd to reach Ikora, "Nice fight," Zavala says, nearly shouting.

"Thank you," Her words barely even audible from the chatter of the crowd. She clears her throat, "Guardians!" Her voice sharp and loud, "I hope you enjoyed that crucible match as much as we did, but this doesn't prove anything. All four of us work better together instead of against, keep that in mind, Guardians." The crowd clears out after a few minutes, Cayde and Shaxx meeting up with Ikora and Zavala as well. 

"Well played, I must say, the end move was truly outstanding, Ikora," Shaxx praises. 

"It was just timing. I'm surprised that the rest of you didn't do it."

"Well," Cayde says, "I tried at the end there, and honestly you just weren't on the mind." 

Ikora smiles, "It was a fun match all in all. I hope we can do it again sometime. Now, I should be going."

"Same here, I have matches to watch in the early morning," Both Zavala and Cayde watch as Ikora and Shaxx leave. 

"So...." Cayde says.

"You did a good job out there. I'm surprised you were able to puncture my armor just with a knife."

"Hey, these robot arms are stronger than you would think." Cayde makes a motion with his arm like he would be flexing it.

"Duly noted."

There's a silence between them. Zavala glances over at Cayde, and he looks like he wants to say something. Zavala lets the quiet hang there, but there's nothing.

"Well, Cayde, I'm going to head to my room. If you need me, I'll be there. Hope you have a good night." He waves as he walks away, hearing a faint 'good night' from Cayde as he does so.

 

 

"Why am I  _so_ fucking stupid." Cayde sits down on his bed, holding his face in his hands. He felt a feeling he thought he has long abandoned, and that, surprise surprise, is love. He's sworn to never love anyone again just as a promise to his past self. Cayde had a wife, had his own kid, but he can't remember their faces or their stories and it's all gone except for what's written down in his journal. Something has just snapped in him with Zavala. He's known this man for several years now, and  _nothing._ Absolutely, nothing.  Now, though? He felt a twang of it. It makes him want to vomit if he could. He doesn't have to pursue it though, maybe it was just his mind tricking him, or there's some sort of error. It could be  _anything_...

 

 _Anything_.

It  _has_ to be anything except love. But _something_ happened

Something happened, something definitely happened. What was it? Cayde shakes his head. This has to be something his mind is playing up, plus, Zavala would never feel the same way. Zavala is strong, has no time for love and the shit that it ties in with it. He has to do something to clear his thoughts... a stroll maybe? Yeah, why not.

The stars are super bright tonight, most of the lights in the tower are off, so it's a bit easier to see them. He starts walking, feeling almost a sense of dread. It's so quiet. In the morning there's that soft sound of people talking or the sound of machinery being worked on. It's just freaky to him, he's so used to there always something going on, but at night it just stops. There's a sound... slow moving footsteps. Cayde stops walking, the sound of footsteps still there.

Cayde reaches for his gun but finds nothing in his holster. Slowly, Cayde turns around.

He sighs in relief, "My god, Guardian, you scared me."

They sign: 'Why are you out here?'

"I could ask the same to you, it's pretty late."

'I like to see the stars.'

"Valid reason, we get a pretty good view of the stars up here."

'Yes. Again, why are you out here?'

Cayde sighs, "It's kind of stupid. Actually, it's really stupid, but I... Well, I think I'm.... needing a repair." 

Their posture straightens and signs: 'Are you okay?'

"Yeah, I think I just have something loose, or maybe just a common error. Have to get it checked."

'You really should.'

"Yup, Shouldn't be too much of a problem to fix. I'm gonna keep on my stroll now, always great to see you."

They wave goodbye, and Cayde turns and walks away. Yeah, he just needs to make sure the parts are doing okay, that seems about right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Burried Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter isn't very long, I had like 6 tests last week and just had to chill out a bit. Also, I'm thinking about writing a Cayde/Ikora/Zavala fic so keep an eye out. Just a fair warning, this story m a y get discontinued, as I'm kinda losing steam for it. Like this may be the last chapter sadly. At least something happens you know.

These two weeks have been very strange... Cayde has been absolutely fixated on his map. Zavala hasn't really payed much attention to what he wants to map out exactly, but every time Zavala sees him it's all about that map. "We need to send a team to map out that area," or "We should head in, I want the layout of the area." Well, Cayde's constant talking about the map is more annoying than it is helpful. Their focus is stocking up on ammunition and being prepared if the Cabal wants to strike back or something else even. Cayde has had done this multiple times in the past though, he was super excited about the Vault of Glass and wanted to know everything about it. 

This is just out of the blue though, Zavala should really ask him about it. 

 

"Come on, Zavala. Just a few more and you'll be at one-hundred." Ikora states, her eyes locked on with Zavala's. He does four more squats with the barbell resting against the back of his neck and drops it on the floor. 

He sits down, taking a drink of water and clearing his throat, "Whenever you're ready, I'll spot you."

"I think I should be waiting for you instead, a spotter is no use if they can't lift the weight. Just take a breather." 

Today is weight day, one of Zavala favorite workout routines. They have weight days, cardio days, and a few yoga ones for rest. Cayde joins once in a blue moon, but it's more of him judging them working out than him working out himself. 

"Alright, I'm ready," Zavala stands up, standing behind Ikora as she gets in position. She picks up the barbel and rests it on her neck. Her legs bend and straighten, and her squats seem almost like a perfect ninety-degree angle. 

"Have you noticed how strange Cayde has been...?"

"Yes, it's starting to get on my nerves."

"Same here. Do you know what he's talking about?"

"It's something about a place on Titan that has his attention."

Zavala sighs, "Maybe we should just send a fire team down just to get it off his mind."

"We need to stay focused on preparing for more attacks and clearing up the town."

"I understand, but a fireteam of three could easily do it, Ikora."

"Of course, I have full faith in our guardians, but if Cayde wants to map it out, he can himself. He's been slacking off so much lately, as he should have been working on the patrols and his other jobs, but he's too fixated on mapping out a simple... place."

There's a lump in Zavala's throat, Cayde just seems so stressed about it, it's consuming him almost. Why is he doing this to himself? He's smarter than that.

A thought forms: what if he went with Cayde to map out the area? Make it as quick and easy as possible. "Ikora, I can go with him. He's just going to keep digging himself into a hole."

Ikora grunts, either from the workout or her frustration, he can't tell, "I can't stop you, but I suggest that you wouldn't. At the very... least just ask him about it."

 

 

Cayde's head lays rested on the table, he's been trying to figure out this puzzle. He heard rumors about a large monster in the ocean of Titan, which he doesn't doubt, but there are recorded sightings of it up close. At first, he took on the challenge of finding it just to keep his mind busy from... things, and it escalated into this. He went down where the footage was recorded, and there was nothing. He checked out the water, nothing. He asked Sloane, the Guardians, and still nothing, only the rumors. It's not really something that's important, as the monster hasn't hurt anyone, but he has a theory. Sometimes the Hive drop worms out of their head, they've known that for a while now, and in the video, it looks like a worm god. That worm could very well belong to Oryx, as he floated out into space as he was killed and could have fallen into the Titan's waters. This is all speculation though.

Honestly, this is all just to keep his mind busy, and Cayde knows that. He's been trying to avoid Zavala as much as possible. Whenever Zavala does come over to check on him, Cayde just tries to talk about this map as much as possible and make it as boring as possible. It works. 

"Cayde." Zavala's voice says over the sound of machinery. That's weird. Cayde lifts his head, Zavala standing in front of him, his face flushed and a little sweat. 

Cayde sighs in relief, "Oh good, I was a little worried I was hearing things. I was just wanting to talk about my new discoveries, good timing."

"I was also curious on the topic."

"W-What?"

"You seem very adamant about checking the place out, getting a good map of the area... We can check the place out if you want."

Cayde gets a weird feeling down his spine, "Oh, no-no, it's fine with what I have. I already checked the place out for myself." Cayde hopes that Zavala doesn't catch that lie, well it's a partial one, so it's not that bad.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Didn't find anything by the way."

"Well..." Zavala looks down at the floor and sighs. He sits down next to Cayde, "What are your theories?"

"Y-your just suddenly interested in this now...?"

"It's an intriguing topic, a monster living in the depths of Titan's oceans... It's kind of silly, but I've always thought of the supernatural to be really cool. Just... don't talk about your map,  _please._ "

This is not what Cayde wanted. This is exactly the opposite of what Cayde wanted. There's an urge in the back of his head, telling him to run. 

"Cayde...?"

It's warm. It is very warm. Cayde puts a few fingers into the back of his neck, and it is hot. 

Cayde makes a sound like him clearing his throat, "Sorry, sorry, I'm just... shocked that... you want to know about my theory." 

Zavala's eyebrows furrow, "Why did you check your neck...?"

"Twisted wire, it happens. So... what do you want to know?"

"What's your new theory you were talking about...? I know about the Oryx one, that's a pretty popular opinion on it."

"Ah, yeah, that theory. It's pretty hard to get your head wrapped around, you know?"  _SHIT. THERE ISN'T ANOTHER THEORY, THAT WAS A LIE. FUUUUUUCK,_ "Well, it starts with the Hive. The Hive is a weird species of aliens, you know? I was thinking that... There was a den of some sorts deep in the water, they could have made an artificial worm that isn't claimed by one of the Hive yet. The theory's a work in progress. I don't have much to support it."  _I DID IT. I FUCKING DID IT._

"Interesting..."

 "Yeah, there's just so much that we don't know about any of these aliens... who knows."

"I would say we could check it out, but... all of our ships are more based on space travel. Not... going through the depths of the ocean."

"Holliday might be able to hook you up, she's the machinery specialist around here."

"I don't think we have the time and materials for that right now, when we're more prepared for any attack, I'd say we can do it."

"Yup! You heading back to your post?"

"I should... thank you for telling me about this. It'll give me something to think about."

"Yeah, no problem at all!" _Please leave._

Zavala stands up and waves his hand as he leaves. Cayde relaxes back onto his desk.

"A twisted wire?"

Cayde straightens immediately, and sees Holliday, "GOD, you almost gave me a system error."

She chuckles, "You're so easily scared these days, but seriously... a twisted wire?"

"Hey, it's really cool of you to listen in on our conversation, you know, that's what friends do, huh?"

"I can't help it, your station is only like seven feet away from mine! It's more like I'm forced to listen in," She crosses her arms. 

Cayde groans, "I've just been... distracted lately."

"With your conspiracy stuff?"

"No... Well, kinda, but also no."

"And...?"

"Just, just don't hate me on this, because it's kind of embarrassing, but I..." Cayde stammers, unable to get it out. Come on, Holliday's your friend just... say it....

"Take your time."

"I-I love... I love... theorizing about things." 

Holliday's expression drops, a complete dead pan look left behind, "Cayde, come on, you can trust me with this kind of stuff."

Cayde sighs, "Fine... I... I really like Zavala."

Holliday squints, "What... does that mean?"

God, it feels like she's just suffocating him with this, "I love, him." Cayde says quietly.

Her eyes widen, "What? Really?!" 

Cayde covers his face and looks down, groaning in frustration. He looks up at her, exasperate, "It might just be something wrong, or just me confusing my hatred with love or something!"

"No, no, Cayde, this is great! I'm happy for you!"

"Happy for me?  _Why?_ _"_

"Well, you both kinda... need that support in a way, you know? I think it's really sweet."

Cayde looks at her, mouth open.

She laughs, "Well, you got to tell him!"

"No, I don't! He'll get weirded out! We're business partners."

"So? Let's go talk to him."

"No, no, no, no, no, we are  _not."_

"You have to tell him sometime. Think about it, okay? I'll be here to help." She pats his shoulder and walks back to her post, fixing a broken sparrow.

 God, this sucks.

 

 

It's been a while since Zavala has talked to Cayde about his conspiracies. Cayde seems to just be avoiding Zavala now, as every conversation they have Cayde leaves, saying he's late for something or he has to go. The stars of the night spot the dark sky. Seeing the city lights back on is always a comforting feeling, even though the red war was about a month ago, it's still calming to see. Zavala hears footseps, and turns around, seeing Cayde.

"Hey." Cayde greets

"Good evening, Cayde."

"I'm going to say this to you as fast as possible, okay?"

"...What?" 

"Listen, listen. I've been thinking for a good long time now, and honestly... I think that... I love you."

Zavala's eyes widen, his face flushing, "E-Excuse me?"

Cayde laughs a little, "Yeah, sorry, this was pretty stupid."

"No... Cayde. This is... This is good."  

This is good. 

They kiss, and how awkward it is, is a little embarrassing but they make it work. Strange, as Zavala would have never thought that this is actually wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaayyyy okayyyy I apologize, I had a lot more planned for this story and just lost steam (again) Aakmjkljlk My bad my bad. Hope you enjoyed this... thing though. AAAaaaagh the ending is p bad too oh well. Just know I have something in the works that will be a lot better.


End file.
